Greenspan says budget deficit out of control

This is not good.

WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told France's Finance Minister Thierry Breton the United States has "lost control" of its budget deficit, the French minister said on Saturday.

..."The United States has lost control of their budget at a time when racking up deficits has been authorized without any control (from Congress)," Breton said. "We were both disappointed that the management of debt is not a political priority today," he added.

The G7 agree the rising imbalances in international trade and investment accounts are related to the US budget deficit and that action needs to be taken to ease these imbalances. The White House offers lip service to halving the deficit by 2009 but so far has offered no concrete plan to do so. One suspects more tax cuts for the rich and frenzied patronage spending on Gulf coast reconctruction will not do it, even if they acheive their heart's desire and completely eliminate all "entitlement programs."

One wonders if Greenspan's upcoming departure as Chair of the Federal Reserve has anything to do with the White House's refusal to take the deficit seriously. Or is he being forced out for bearing bad news to our Peerless Misleader? It's not exactly a secret that Bush doesn't brook any dissent in his ranks, even when it's fact-based - actually especially when it's fact-based.